Saturday, April 18, 2015

Cozies and Libraries

I
enjoy reading "cozies", which are novels, usually in the 100,000 to
150,000 word bracket (smaller books) with a background theme that
relates to something such as baking, soapmaking, or some other career of
that ilk. They are easy on the brain, generally reasonably fast-paced, and
do not have a lot of garbage sex or graphic descriptions of dead bodies.
The characters are intelligent and enjoyable as a rule, and there is
often a good amount of humour as well. Some have recipes included, others have descriptions of processes of the "craft" in the background, so they are educational in their own way too.

Tim Myers happens to write
several of these easy-to-read-and-understand series but there are
several other authors to enjoy as well. I have been reading the "Hannah
Swensen" series (by Joanne Fluke) for the last several weeks and have grown quite fond of
the main character. However, I have almost reached the end of the
series, at least the end of the novels that have been written to date. This particular author publishes one or two books a year in this series and the latest one has just been published in March, so it will be a few months before another one comes out. I can't wait that long to read, so I will "test" out a few other authors... and I shall do that through my local library.I love the library! Through it I can borrow any number of books, DVDs, CDs, and other entertainment items, read or listen to them, and hand them back in when I'm finished. The library allows me to check out new (to me) authors, series, and even types of books. If not for the library, I wouldn't have stumbled upon Hannah Swensen and the whole "cozy mystery" genre. I highly recommend libraries as a great source of entertainment.

It is through the library that I shall begin to read Tim Myers. Tim Myersis the author of several series and stand-alone books, including several "cozy mystery" series, as well as a few children's stories. He writes under aliases as well (Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer, Chris Cavender, Casey Mayes, Jessica Beck,
& D. B. Morgan). I haven't read any of his novels, so I have ordered two from different series. I've also ordered a few DVDs of television shows that I enjoy, but that's a whole 'nother topic. At any rate, I'll let you know what I think of Tim Myers as I progress.I did want to make one comment about authors who write under different names. When reading through comments made by people who have read their books I have often seen negative or quasi-negative comments about who they really are. For instance, there was a person who was upset because the main (male) character in one of Tim Myers' books (Dead Men Don't Lye) was over 30 and still taking his laundry home for his mother to do for him. The comment went like this: " I have assumed that "Tim Myers" is a pen name for a woman- -at least, I hope it is, because I cannot imagine the man who could identify with, let alone create, Ben, the series protagonist." I found this comment quite humourous, although it wasn't meant to be. I mean, all the reader had to do was a little search on Google to find out who Tim Myers is. Would the author of that comment enjoy the book less if he thought a man had written it? I wonder. Personally I've met men like the protagonist who do this, so this character wouldn't be terribly unusual to me. I suppose if you haven't known anyone like this, the character would be.At any rate, I am off for this time. I've put holds on my books and will pick them up this week. Then I can get to know "Ben" and make my own judgements. Have a wonderful day!

About Me

Friendly, accepting of others, intelligent, and very relaxed in life... that's me.

What do I do in retirement? Mostly I play. I play computer games (I like city builders and non-combatant types). I play at cooking and baking (we eat low carb, so I enjoy revamping recipes). I play at loom knitting (scarves and hats mostly). I play at writing (but not much the past couple of years). I play at housework (which means I put it off until necessary to do).

Retirement can be very good and very bad all at the same time. Aches and
pains are part of normal life. Does it mean I live stress-free? Not in
the least. The stresses are just different. But I enjoy retirement
despite the aches and pains and stresses of getting older... because I have a freedom that I have
never had before. Freedom to choose to do or not to do.

Retirement means that I can stay up as late as I want and then sleep in as late as I need to. It also means that every little thing that happened to my body when I was young has come back to haunt me with a vengeance. It means that I can work on things as I want, that I do not have to do anything quickly... which is a good thing, considering that my body determines how quickly that I can accomplish anything! It means that no one tells me when to get up, when to eat, when to sleep, or when I can play. The only time I have to be somewhere at a certain time is when I have an appointment.... usually with my doctor. Retirement is freedom... with restrictions. My motto these days is "There's always tomorrow... and if there ain't, it don't matter." I love it!